The General Director of the Georgian State Electrosystem (GSE), Vano Zardiashvili, says the agreement signed today on the construction of the Urbnisi substation represents a new model of public–private cooperation, allowing the state to save around GEL 20 million. He made the statement after signing a memorandum of understanding with six private energy companies.
Under the memorandum, the parties will jointly design and build a 220-KWh Urbnisi substation, which will play a key role in integrating electricity generated from wind, solar, and hydropower plants into Georgia’s transmission grid. According to the agreement, private companies will finance and supply various technical equipment, while GSE will be responsible for designing the substation and carrying out construction and installation works.
“Today was unprecedented — a new model of public–private cooperation has been created. We signed a memorandum outlining the joint construction of the Urbnisi substation. The Georgian State Electrosystem will save approximately GEL 20 million, and the private sector will cover these costs,” Zardiashvili said.
He added that Urbnisi will be one of the most important infrastructure components for connecting new generation sources to the grid, and that similar cooperation models should be expanded: “We believe this practice should definitely be implemented elsewhere, as both sides clearly express satisfaction and readiness to move forward.”
